Back to School: 5 Surprising Ways to Get Your Child Ready to Learn

With 2 months of reading and nearly 3 months of math lost each year to the summer brain drain (learning loss that occurs each summer), parents should prime their kids to fix the damage before school begins. That's even more important if their child has behavioral, social, or learning difficulties.

The education advocates at Brain Balance Achievement Centers -- a holistic, drug-free approach to addressing behavioral, social, and learning difficulties -- have five surprising strategies to get your child (with or without difficulties) ready to learn again.

BRAIN BALANCE'S 5 BACK-TO-SCHOOL TIPS

TIP 1: PRACTICE KINESTHETIC ACTIVITIES
Activities that involve active physical motion help children learn faster and retain more information. Enjoy the last rays of summer while teaching your child "learning can be fun" by taking them on activities like gallery walks.

TIP 2: COME UP WITH A DAILY SCHEDULE
A concrete routine keeps your children grounded, and it's especially necessary to re-establish one after the unscheduled months of summer. Let your child have input into the plan-it will give them a say and make them feel empowered.

TIP 3: SPEND TIME IN THE KITCHEN
Let your child do simple activities like measuring ingredients, dividing up portions, and reading recipes. This reinforces their reading and math skills without making them feel intimidated. Plus, it helps you with dinner -- or even back to school meal prep.

TIP 4: HAVE YOUR CHILD START JOURNALING
Have your child write about their feelings or thoughts. This is a fun way to re-activate their writing skills and show them that writing is meaningful. And, of course, that will reflect in their school assignments and grades.

TIP 5: INTEGRATE FINE MOTOR ACTIVITIES
Stimulate your child's tactile and visual senses by letting them play with toys like sidewalk chalk and finger paints. These activities are sensory and help your child develop fine movements. They're also plain ol' fun!

To understand whether your child might have left- or right-brain weakness, complete this simple online assessment here.

After years of helping children with behavioral and social challenges, the experts at Brain Balance Achievement Centers have developed a cutting-edge (and drug-free) program combining sensory motor stimulation, academic exercises, and nutrition to correct brain imbalance and improve achievement.

For more information, visit brainbalancecenters.com